Symbols

Names

The names of the main character and those of his colleagues have a symbolic meaning in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The main character's first name is simply Guy. Meaning, at the beginning of the plot he is an absolute average citizen and leads a conformist life, he is a representative of the "everyman".

His last name Montag is ironically a reference to the name of a famous paper factory "Montag Brothers' Paper Company". His name is well complemented by the name of his teacher, Faber, which is reminiscent of Faber-Castell, a German manufacturer of stationery. Just as a pen fills a sheet of paper, Faber fills Montag's head with new ideas as he speaks to him via radio capsule.

Guy's colleagues are called "Stoneman" and "Black" (Part 1, 48%) and therefore have the perfect names as firefighters. Stoneman recalls the harshness and emotional coldness with which firefighters burn people's belongings only because they are reading or hiding books. Black is the color that suits the burning, the ashes and the nothingness that remains after a burning.

White pigeons

When Guy sees burning books, he thinks of white pigeons. He observes on one occasion how "the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house" (Part 1, 1%). Another time, a book that falls into his hand also appears to him like a "white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering" (Part 1, 51%).

White pigeons symbolize peace. One of the important messages of the novel is t...